Wives of Henry VIII

Rare card · No. 17003

King Henry VIII of England had six wives between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms (de jure), Henry had only three wives and no divorces during his life. Instead, three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England, declaring that a true marriage never took place (unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union). Henry VIII was granted an annulment by the church in England, instead of one by the Pope, as he desired, for his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, substantially leading to the English Reformation. This legal action was later revoked during the reign of their daughter Mary I. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses.

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